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1 The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

A Rebellious Nation

2 Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth!For the Lord has spoken:“I reared children and brought them up,but they have rebelled against me.3 The ox knows its master,the donkey its owner’s manger,but Israel does not know,my people do not understand.”

4 Woe to the sinful nation,a people whose guilt is great,a brood of evildoers,children given to corruption!They have forsaken the Lord;they have spurned the Holy One of Israeland turned their backs on him.

5 Why should you be beaten anymore?Why do you persist in rebellion?Your whole head is injured,your whole heart afflicted.6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your headthere is no soundness—only wounds and weltsand open sores,not cleansed or bandagedor soothed with olive oil.

7 Your country is desolate,your cities burned with fire;your fields are being stripped by foreignersright before you,laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.8 Daughter Zion is leftlike a shelter in a vineyard,like a hut in a cucumber field,like a city under siege.9 Unless the Lord Almightyhad left us some survivors,we would have become like Sodom,we would have been like Gomorrah.

10 Hear the word of the Lord,you rulers of Sodom;listen to the instruction of our God,you people of Gomorrah!11 “The multitude of your sacrifices—what are they to me?” says the Lord.“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,of rams and the fat of fattened animals;I have no pleasurein the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.12 When you come to appear before me,who has asked this of you,this trampling of my courts?13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!Your incense is detestable to me.New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.14 Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivalsI hate with all my being.They have become a burden to me;I am weary of bearing them.15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,I hide my eyes from you;even when you offer many prayers,I am not listening.

Your hands are full of blood!

16 Wash and make yourselves clean.Take your evil deeds out of my sight;stop doing wrong.17 Learn to do right; seek justice.Defend the oppressed.[a]Take up the cause of the fatherless;plead the case of the widow.

18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,”says the Lord.“Though your sins are like scarlet,they shall be as white as snow;though they are red as crimson,they shall be like wool.19 If you are willing and obedient,you will eat the good things of the land;20 but if you resist and rebel,you will be devoured by the sword.”For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

21 See how the faithful cityhas become a prostitute!She once was full of justice;righteousness used to dwell in her—but now murderers!22 Your silver has become dross,your choice wine is diluted with water.23 Your rulers are rebels,partners with thieves;they all love bribesand chase after gifts.They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;the widow’s case does not come before them.

24 Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty,the Mighty One of Israel, declares:“Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foesand avenge myself on my enemies.25 I will turn my hand against you;[b]I will thoroughly purge away your drossand remove all your impurities.26 I will restore your leaders as in days of old,your rulers as at the beginning.Afterward you will be calledthe City of Righteousness,the Faithful City.”

27 Zion will be delivered with justice,her penitent ones with righteousness.28 But rebels and sinners will both be broken,and those who forsake the Lord will perish.

29 “You will be ashamed because of the sacred oaksin which you have delighted;you will be disgraced because of the gardensthat you have chosen.30 You will be like an oak with fading leaves,like a garden without water.31 The mighty man will become tinderand his work a spark;both will burn together,with no one to quench the fire.”

The Mountain of the Lord

2 This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

2 In the last days

the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be establishedas the highest of the mountains;it will be exalted above the hills,and all nations will stream to it.

3 Many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,to the temple of the God of Jacob.He will teach us his ways,so that we may walk in his paths.”The law will go out from Zion,the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.4 He will judge between the nationsand will settle disputes for many peoples.They will beat their swords into plowsharesand their spears into pruning hooks.Nation will not take up sword against nation,nor will they train for war anymore.

5 Come, descendants of Jacob,let us walk in the light of the Lord.

The Day of the Lord

6 You, Lord, have abandoned your people,the descendants of Jacob.They are full of superstitions from the East;they practice divination like the Philistinesand embrace pagan customs.7 Their land is full of silver and gold;there is no end to their treasures.Their land is full of horses;there is no end to their chariots.8 Their land is full of idols;they bow down to the work of their hands,to what their fingers have made.9 So people will be brought lowand everyone humbled—do not forgive them.[c]

10 Go into the rocks, hide in the groundfrom the fearful presence of the Lordand the splendor of his majesty!11 The eyes of the arrogant will be humbledand human pride brought low;the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.

12 The Lord Almighty has a day in storefor all the proud and lofty,for all that is exalted(and they will be humbled),13 for all the cedars of Lebanon, tall and lofty,and all the oaks of Bashan,14 for all the towering mountainsand all the high hills,15 for every lofty towerand every fortified wall,16 for every trading ship[d]and every stately vessel.17 The arrogance of man will be brought lowand human pride humbled;the Lord alone will be exalted in that day,18 and the idols will totally disappear.

19 People will flee to caves in the rocksand to holes in the groundfrom the fearful presence of the Lordand the splendor of his majesty,when he rises to shake the earth.20 In that day people will throw awayto the moles and batstheir idols of silver and idols of gold,which they made to worship.21 They will flee to caverns in the rocksand to the overhanging cragsfrom the fearful presence of the Lordand the splendor of his majesty,when he rises to shake the earth.

22 Stop trusting in mere humans,who have but a breath in their nostrils.Why hold them in esteem?

Judgment on Jerusalem and Judah

3 See now, the Lord,the Lord Almighty,is about to take from Jerusalem and Judahboth supply and support:all supplies of food and all supplies of water,2 the hero and the warrior,the judge and the prophet,the diviner and the elder,3 the captain of fifty and the man of rank,the counselor, skilled craftsman and clever enchanter.

4 “I will make mere youths their officials;children will rule over them.”

5 People will oppress each other—man against man, neighbor against neighbor.The young will rise up against the old,the nobody against the honored.

6 A man will seize one of his brothersin his father’s house, and say,“You have a cloak, you be our leader;take charge of this heap of ruins!”7 But in that day he will cry out,“I have no remedy.I have no food or clothing in my house;do not make me the leader of the people.”

8 Jerusalem staggers,Judah is falling;their words and deeds are against the Lord,defying his glorious presence.9 The look on their faces testifies against them;they parade their sin like Sodom;they do not hide it.Woe to them!They have brought disaster upon themselves.

10 Tell the righteous it will be well with them,for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds.11 Woe to the wicked!Disaster is upon them!They will be paid backfor what their hands have done.

12 Youths oppress my people,women rule over them.My people, your guides lead you astray;they turn you from the path.

13 The Lord takes his place in court;he rises to judge the people.14 The Lord enters into judgmentagainst the elders and leaders of his people:“It is you who have ruined my vineyard;the plunder from the poor is in your houses.15 What do you mean by crushing my peopleand grinding the faces of the poor?”declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

16 The Lord says,“The women of Zion are haughty,walking along with outstretched necks,flirting with their eyes,strutting along with swaying hips,with ornaments jingling on their ankles.17 Therefore the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the women of Zion;the Lord will make their scalps bald.”

18 In that day the Lord will snatch away their finery: the bangles and headbands and crescent necklaces,19 the earrings and bracelets and veils,20 the headdresses and anklets and sashes, the perfume bottles and charms,21 the signet rings and nose rings,22 the fine robes and the capes and cloaks, the purses23 and mirrors, and the linen garments and tiaras and shawls.

24 Instead of fragrance there will be a stench;instead of a sash, a rope;instead of well-dressed hair, baldness;instead of fine clothing, sackcloth;instead of beauty, branding.25 Your men will fall by the sword,your warriors in battle.26 The gates of Zion will lament and mourn;destitute, she will sit on the ground.

4 1 In that day seven womenwill take hold of one manand say, “We will eat our own foodand provide our own clothes;only let us be called by your name.Take away our disgrace!”

The Branch of the Lord

2 In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel.3 Those who are left in Zion, who remain in Jerusalem, will be called holy, all who are recorded among the living in Jerusalem.4 The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit[e] of judgment and a spirit[f] of fire.5 Then the Lord will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over everything the glory[g] will be a canopy.6 It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.

The Song of the Vineyard

5 I will sing for the one I lovea song about his vineyard:My loved one had a vineyardon a fertile hillside.2 He dug it up and cleared it of stonesand planted it with the choicest vines.He built a watchtower in itand cut out a winepress as well.Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,but it yielded only bad fruit.

3 “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,judge between me and my vineyard.4 What more could have been done for my vineyardthan I have done for it?When I looked for good grapes,why did it yield only bad?5 Now I will tell youwhat I am going to do to my vineyard:I will take away its hedge,and it will be destroyed;I will break down its wall,and it will be trampled.6 I will make it a wasteland,neither pruned nor cultivated,and briers and thorns will grow there.I will command the cloudsnot to rain on it.”

7 The vineyard of the Lord Almightyis the nation of Israel,and the people of Judahare the vines he delighted in.And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

Woes and Judgments

8 Woe to you who add house to houseand join field to fieldtill no space is leftand you live alone in the land.

9 The Lord Almighty has declared in my hearing:

“Surely the great houses will become desolate,the fine mansions left without occupants.10 A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath[h] of wine;a homer[i] of seed will yield only an ephah[j] of grain.”

11 Woe to those who rise early in the morningto run after their drinks,who stay up late at nighttill they are inflamed with wine.12 They have harps and lyres at their banquets,pipes and timbrels and wine,but they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord,no respect for the work of his hands.13 Therefore my people will go into exilefor lack of understanding;those of high rank will die of hungerand the common people will be parched with thirst.14 Therefore Death expands its jaws,opening wide its mouth;into it will descend their nobles and masseswith all their brawlers and revelers.15 So people will be brought lowand everyone humbled,the eyes of the arrogant humbled.16 But the Lord Almighty will be exalted by his justice,and the holy God will be proved holy by his righteous acts.17 Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture;lambs will feed[k] among the ruins of the rich.

18 Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit,and wickedness as with cart ropes,19 to those who say, “Let God hurry;let him hasten his workso we may see it.The plan of the Holy One of Israel—let it approach, let it come into view,so we may know it.”

20 Woe to those who call evil goodand good evil,who put darkness for lightand light for darkness,who put bitter for sweetand sweet for bitter.

21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyesand clever in their own sight.

22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wineand champions at mixing drinks,23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe,but deny justice to the innocent.24 Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up strawand as dry grass sinks down in the flames,so their roots will decayand their flowers blow away like dust;for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almightyand spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.25 Therefore the Lord’s anger burns against his people;his hand is raised and he strikes them down.The mountains shake,and the dead bodies are like refuse in the streets.

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,his hand is still upraised.

26 He lifts up a banner for the distant nations,he whistles for those at the ends of the earth.Here they come,swiftly and speedily!27 Not one of them grows tired or stumbles,not one slumbers or sleeps;not a belt is loosened at the waist,not a sandal strap is broken.28 Their arrows are sharp,all their bows are strung;their horses’ hooves seem like flint,their chariot wheels like a whirlwind.29 Their roar is like that of the lion,they roar like young lions;they growl as they seize their preyand carry it off with no one to rescue.30 In that day they will roar over itlike the roaring of the sea.And if one looks at the land,there is only darkness and distress;even the sun will be darkened by clouds.

Isaiah’s Commission

6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.3 And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;the whole earth is full of his glory.”

4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

9 He said, “Go and tell this people:

“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’10 Make the heart of this people calloused;make their ears dulland close their eyes.[l]Otherwise they might see with their eyes,hear with their ears,understand with their hearts,and turn and be healed.”

11 Then I said, “For how long, Lord?”

And he answered:

“Until the cities lie ruinedand without inhabitant,until the houses are left desertedand the fields ruined and ravaged,12 until the Lord has sent everyone far awayand the land is utterly forsaken.13 And though a tenth remains in the land,it will again be laid waste.But as the terebinth and oakleave stumps when they are cut down,so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.”

The Sign of Immanuel

7 When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it.

2 Now the house of David was told, “Aram has allied itself with[m] Ephraim”; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.

3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub,[n] to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.4 Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood—because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.5 Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s son have plotted your ruin, saying,6 “Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.”7 Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘It will not take place,it will not happen,8 for the head of Aram is Damascus,and the head of Damascus is only Rezin.Within sixty-five yearsEphraim will be too shattered to be a people.9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria,and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.If you do not stand firm in your faith,you will not stand at all.’”

10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz,11 “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”

12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.”

13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also?14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you[o] a sign: The virgin[p] will conceive and give birth to a son, and[q] will call him Immanuel.[r]15 He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right,16 for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.17 The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria.”

Assyria, the Lord’s Instrument

18 In that day the Lord will whistle for flies from the Nile delta in Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria.19 They will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the crevices in the rocks, on all the thornbushes and at all the water holes.20 In that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria—to shave your head and private parts, and to cut off your beard also.21 In that day, a person will keep alive a young cow and two goats.22 And because of the abundance of the milk they give, there will be curds to eat. All who remain in the land will eat curds and honey.23 In that day, in every place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels,[s] there will be only briers and thorns.24 Hunters will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers and thorns.25 As for all the hills once cultivated by the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of the briers and thorns; they will become places where cattle are turned loose and where sheep run.

Isaiah and His Children as Signs

8 The Lord said to me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.”[t]2 So I called in Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnesses for me.3 Then I made love to the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. And the Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.4 For before the boy knows how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”

5 The Lord spoke to me again:

6 “Because this people has rejectedthe gently flowing waters of Shiloahand rejoices over Rezinand the son of Remaliah,7 therefore the Lord is about to bring against themthe mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates—the king of Assyria with all his pomp.It will overflow all its channels,run over all its banks8 and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it,passing through it and reaching up to the neck.Its outspread wings will cover the breadth of your land,Immanuel[u]!”

9 Raise the war cry,[v] you nations, and be shattered!Listen, all you distant lands.Prepare for battle, and be shattered!Prepare for battle, and be shattered!10 Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted;propose your plan, but it will not stand,for God is with us.[w]

11 This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people:

12 “Do not call conspiracyeverything this people calls a conspiracy;do not fear what they fear,and do not dread it.13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,he is the one you are to fear,he is the one you are to dread.14 He will be a holy place;for both Israel and Judah he will bea stone that causes people to stumbleand a rock that makes them fall.And for the people of Jerusalem he will bea trap and a snare.15 Many of them will stumble;they will fall and be broken,they will be snared and captured.”

16 Bind up this testimony of warningand seal up God’s instruction among my disciples.17 I will wait for the Lord,who is hiding his face from the descendants of Jacob.I will put my trust in him.

18 Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.

The Darkness Turns to Light

19 When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?20 Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.21 Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God.22 Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.

9 [x]Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—

2 The people walking in darknesshave seen a great light;on those living in the land of deep darknessa light has dawned.3 You have enlarged the nationand increased their joy;they rejoice before youas people rejoice at the harvest,as warriors rejoicewhen dividing the plunder.4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,you have shatteredthe yoke that burdens them,the bar across their shoulders,the rod of their oppressor.5 Every warrior’s boot used in battleand every garment rolled in bloodwill be destined for burning,will be fuel for the fire.6 For to us a child is born,to us a son is given,and the government will be on his shoulders.And he will be calledWonderful Counselor, Mighty God,Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.7 Of the greatness of his government and peacethere will be no end.He will reign on David’s throneand over his kingdom,establishing and upholding itwith justice and righteousnessfrom that time on and forever.The zeal of the Lord Almightywill accomplish this.

The Lord’s Anger Against Israel

8 The Lord has sent a message against Jacob;it will fall on Israel.9 All the people will know it—Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria—who say with prideand arrogance of heart,10 “The bricks have fallen down,but we will rebuild with dressed stone;the fig trees have been felled,but we will replace them with cedars.”11 But the Lord has strengthened Rezin’s foes against themand has spurred their enemies on.12 Arameans from the east and Philistines from the westhave devoured Israel with open mouth.

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,his hand is still upraised.

13 But the people have not returned to him who struck them,nor have they sought the Lord Almighty.14 So the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail,both palm branch and reed in a single day;15 the elders and dignitaries are the head,the prophets who teach lies are the tail.16 Those who guide this people mislead them,and those who are guided are led astray.17 Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men,nor will he pity the fatherless and widows,for everyone is ungodly and wicked,every mouth speaks folly.

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,his hand is still upraised.

18 Surely wickedness burns like a fire;it consumes briers and thorns,it sets the forest thickets ablaze,so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke.19 By the wrath of the Lord Almightythe land will be scorchedand the people will be fuel for the fire;they will not spare one another.20 On the right they will devour,but still be hungry;on the left they will eat,but not be satisfied.Each will feed on the flesh of their own offspring[y]:21 Manasseh will feed on Ephraim, and Ephraim on Manasseh;together they will turn against Judah.

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,his hand is still upraised.

10 Woe to those who make unjust laws,to those who issue oppressive decrees,2 to deprive the poor of their rightsand withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,making widows their preyand robbing the fatherless.3 What will you do on the day of reckoning,when disaster comes from afar?To whom will you run for help?Where will you leave your riches?4 Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captivesor fall among the slain.

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,his hand is still upraised.

God’s Judgment on Assyria

5 “Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger,in whose hand is the club of my wrath!6 I send him against a godless nation,I dispatch him against a people who anger me,to seize loot and snatch plunder,and to trample them down like mud in the streets.7 But this is not what he intends,this is not what he has in mind;his purpose is to destroy,to put an end to many nations.8 ‘Are not my commanders all kings?’ he says.9 ‘Has not Kalno fared like Carchemish?Is not Hamath like Arpad,and Samaria like Damascus?10 As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols,kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria—11 shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her imagesas I dealt with Samaria and her idols?’”

12 When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes.13 For he says:

“‘By the strength of my hand I have done this,and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.I removed the boundaries of nations,I plundered their treasures;like a mighty one I subdued[z] their kings.14 As one reaches into a nest,so my hand reached for the wealth of the nations;as people gather abandoned eggs,so I gathered all the countries;not one flapped a wing,or opened its mouth to chirp.’”

15 Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it,or the saw boast against the one who uses it?As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up,or a club brandish the one who is not wood!16 Therefore, the Lord, the Lord Almighty,will send a wasting disease upon his sturdy warriors;under his pomp a fire will be kindledlike a blazing flame.17 The Light of Israel will become a fire,their Holy One a flame;in a single day it will burn and consumehis thorns and his briers.18 The splendor of his forests and fertile fieldsit will completely destroy,as when a sick person wastes away.19 And the remaining trees of his forests will be so fewthat a child could write them down.

The Remnant of Israel

20 In that day the remnant of Israel,the survivors of Jacob,will no longer rely on himwho struck them downbut will truly rely on the Lord,the Holy One of Israel.21 A remnant will return,[aa] a remnant of Jacobwill return to the Mighty God.22 Though your people be like the sand by the sea, Israel,only a remnant will return.Destruction has been decreed,overwhelming and righteous.23 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, will carry outthe destruction decreed upon the whole land.

24 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:

“My people who live in Zion,do not be afraid of the Assyrians,who beat you with a rodand lift up a club against you, as Egypt did.25 Very soon my anger against you will endand my wrath will be directed to their destruction.”

26 The Lord Almighty will lash them with a whip,as when he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb;and he will raise his staff over the waters,as he did in Egypt.27 In that day their burden will be lifted from your shoulders,their yoke from your neck;the yoke will be brokenbecause you have grown so fat.[ab]

28 They enter Aiath;they pass through Migron;they store supplies at Mikmash.29 They go over the pass, and say,“We will camp overnight at Geba.”Ramah trembles;Gibeah of Saul flees.30 Cry out, Daughter Gallim!Listen, Laishah!Poor Anathoth!31 Madmenah is in flight;the people of Gebim take cover.32 This day they will halt at Nob;they will shake their fistat the mount of Daughter Zion,at the hill of Jerusalem.

33 See, the Lord, the Lord Almighty,will lop off the boughs with great power.The lofty trees will be felled,the tall ones will be brought low.34 He will cut down the forest thickets with an ax;Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One.

The Branch From Jesse

11 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,the Spirit of counsel and of might,the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,or decide by what he hears with his ears;4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.5 Righteousness will be his beltand faithfulness the sash around his waist.

6 The wolf will live with the lamb,the leopard will lie down with the goat,the calf and the lion and the yearling[ac] together;and a little child will lead them.7 The cow will feed with the bear,their young will lie down together,and the lion will eat straw like the ox.8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den,and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.9 They will neither harm nor destroyon all my holy mountain,for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lordas the waters cover the sea.

10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush,[ad] from Elam, from Babylonia,[ae] from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.

12 He will raise a banner for the nationsand gather the exiles of Israel;he will assemble the scattered people of Judahfrom the four quarters of the earth.13 Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish,and Judah’s enemies[af] will be destroyed;Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.14 They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west;together they will plunder the people to the east.They will subdue Edom and Moab,and the Ammonites will be subject to them.15 The Lord will dry upthe gulf of the Egyptian sea;with a scorching wind he will sweep his handover the Euphrates River.He will break it up into seven streamsso that anyone can cross over in sandals.16 There will be a highway for the remnant of his peoplethat is left from Assyria,as there was for Israelwhen they came up from Egypt.

Songs of Praise

12 In that day you will say:

“I will praise you, Lord.Although you were angry with me,your anger has turned awayand you have comforted me.2 Surely God is my salvation;I will trust and not be afraid.The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense[ag];he has become my salvation.”3 With joy you will draw waterfrom the wells of salvation.

4 In that day you will say:

“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;make known among the nations what he has done,and proclaim that his name is exalted.5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;let this be known to all the world.6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”

A Prophecy Against Babylon

13 A prophecy against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw:

2 Raise a banner on a bare hilltop,shout to them;beckon to themto enter the gates of the nobles.3 I have commanded those I prepared for battle;I have summoned my warriors to carry out my wrath—those who rejoice in my triumph.

4 Listen, a noise on the mountains,like that of a great multitude!Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms,like nations massing together!The Lord Almighty is musteringan army for war.5 They come from faraway lands,from the ends of the heavens—the Lord and the weapons of his wrath—to destroy the whole country.

6 Wail, for the day of the Lord is near;it will come like destruction from the Almighty.[ah]7 Because of this, all hands will go limp,every heart will melt with fear.8 Terror will seize them,pain and anguish will grip them;they will writhe like a woman in labor.They will look aghast at each other,their faces aflame.

9 See, the day of the Lord is coming—a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger—to make the land desolateand destroy the sinners within it.10 The stars of heaven and their constellationswill not show their light.The rising sun will be darkenedand the moon will not give its light.11 I will punish the world for its evil,the wicked for their sins.I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughtyand will humble the pride of the ruthless.12 I will make people scarcer than pure gold,more rare than the gold of Ophir.13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;and the earth will shake from its placeat the wrath of the Lord Almighty,in the day of his burning anger.

14 Like a hunted gazelle,like sheep without a shepherd,they will all return to their own people,they will flee to their native land.15 Whoever is captured will be thrust through;all who are caught will fall by the sword.16 Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;their houses will be looted and their wives violated.

17 See, I will stir up against them the Medes,who do not care for silverand have no delight in gold.18 Their bows will strike down the young men;they will have no mercy on infants,nor will they look with compassion on children.19 Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms,the pride and glory of the Babylonians,[ai]will be overthrown by Godlike Sodom and Gomorrah.20 She will never be inhabitedor lived in through all generations;there no nomads will pitch their tents,there no shepherds will rest their flocks.21 But desert creatures will lie there,jackals will fill her houses;there the owls will dwell,and there the wild goats will leap about.22 Hyenas will inhabit her strongholds,jackals her luxurious palaces.Her time is at hand,and her days will not be prolonged.

Isaiah 6:10Hebrew; Septuagint ‘You will be ever hearing, but never understanding; / you will be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ / 10 This people’s heart has become calloused; / they hardly hear with their ears, / and they have closed their eyes